Arresting student attention: Students learning about careers in law enforcement

By Samantha Schafer

Richmond High School

“You have the right to remain silent…”

Advertisement

Miranda Rights are just one of the many things Richmond High School students are learning in Criminal Justice.

Junior Dylan Yore said, “We are pretty much learning about police officers and what their job includes.”

The class is taught by Mr. Rich Margosian, who has 28 years of field experience. Starting as a State Trooper, Mr. Margosian advanced to a uniform sergeant, an undercover detective and a Detective/Lieutenant in charge of narcotics. His teaching skills are backed with experience teaching at the State Police Academy.

The connections he has made provides Criminal Justice students with many unique opportunities.

“About 90% of our work is hands-on. We have done CPR training and Defense Tactics, or self-defense. We also do normal class work, but we do a lot of real-world examples,” Yore said.

Writing and presentation skills were very important to Mr. Margosian. Duties of police officers, like writing reports, require these skills. Students do weekly presentations.

This class also allowed Yore to become CPR-certified. Students now know how to perform CPR on adults and infants, the Heimlich Maneuver on conscious and unconscious people and basic first aid.

Yore said, “Knowing CPR makes me more confident that I will know what to do if there is ever an emergency.”

Students were given a written exam as well as physical training. Everyone in the class is currently CPR certified.

Yore also enjoyed Defense Tactics because he believed it could be used in real life.

This portion of the class was taught by state police officers Derek Hoffmann and Pat Dugharty. Defense Tactics focuses on being on defense as a police officer. For example, students learned about the appropriate amount of force to use with suspects exhibiting different types of behaviors.

In the future, the class is planning to take a visit to the Macomb County Jail.

All of this real world preparation is good for Yore because he wants to become a defense or prosecution attorney. He believes it will be an interesting way to interact with people.

As an overall goal, Mr. Margosian wants his students to understand the criminal justice system.

Mr. Margosian said, “Even if they don’t get into the criminal justice field, they are ahead of the game because they know how the system works in real life rather than what they see on TV.”

Computer class offers real-life lessons

By Thomas Biafore

Richmond High School

All that’s really on Alyssa Mlot’s mind is the excitement she has for first hour, which is MOUS (Microsoft Office User Specialist.)

“MOUS is such an interesting class. It really prepares me for the future,” said Mlot, a junior.

She likes all that the class teaches about real-world experiences she will come to face in the future, from the excitement of getting a job to the nail-biting suspense of scheduling an interview.

“I really want to be a preschool teacher and by teaching me about Microsoft programs such as Power Point, I learned how to apply them in the educational setting,” said Alyssa. Although the class seems as though it would only teach computer skills, it actually enlightens students more on real-life experiences that follow gaining a career.

“I began to understand all the skills employers look for when they need to fill a position,” said Alyssa. She could not be more pleased with how much the class has taught her. Through projects and activities that revolve around her future, she has gained a new understanding of what to expect from life after school.

“We did a project where we created a digital world, kind of like Sims, and we had to accomplish all these everyday tasks,” explained Alyssa. She worked through countless other projects as well, including a workplace safety poster and a scenario where she was stranded on an island.

By doing these projects, she learned how to maximize skills and resources she possesses to enhance any task she attempts to complete. By trying to survive on a deserted island, students learned that everything they do has to have a purpose.

By teaching these life skills, students are preparing themselves by filling out resumes and coping with inevitable failure. “It’s about using the failure as a drive to become better,” said Mlot.

In this class, students learn how to apply themselves in a real scenario.

“I like this class because you have to apply what you learned to help you come up with a solution. In this class there are no exact answers,” said Mlot.

By learning through experience, students gain an understanding of how to do things they never realized they learned. “I feel that by learning this way, we did not learn how to fill out a resume exactly, but we gained an understanding of all we need to include in one,” said Mlot.

In this class, students do not need to know just one way to do something. They need to understand the multiple ways to find a solution and deduce what works best for them.

Mlot said, “Through the way we undergo activities, I learned of individual ways of how I should approach the challenges in life I face.”

Mlot MOUSing through life

Students “accounting” for their future

By Amanda Vinson

Richmond High School

Melissa Leduc, junior, has taken a step in the right direction to prepare for her future. Along with many other students, the Accounting class has found its way into Leduc’s schedule.

This class, taught by Mrs. Erin Woodruff, is aimed at highly-motivated students who plan to go into business of any kind.

“Accounting is a blend between math, business and accounting skills,” Leduc said. “Math has always been a strong suit of mine, and I’ve always been interested in business. I took a shot in the dark and signed up for this class, and turns out it has been very useful to me.”

The class has a unique daily routine. “Accounting stands out from all my other classes – we use Aplia,” she said. Aplia is software that guides students through the course, giving them assignments and homework. It grades assignments and gives detailed explanations for each answer.

In a world where people cannot go a month without the newest technology in their hands, a lot of classrooms have converted themselves to electronics, including Accounting. “I think it’s important to have a technology-based class since so many businesses do their accounting virtually now,” Leduc said.

The technology element is not the only profitable element to the class; she feels this hour of her day is greatly beneficial to her future. “This class has given me knowledge I can actually apply in the real world, especially if I decide to be an accountant,” she said.

The class provides students with knowledge regarding all things business, with a focus on accounting.

“We’ve learned how to analyze business transactions, which is a big part of accounting,” Leduc said. A business transaction is any activity a company makes financially, like cash inflows and cash outflows.

“I’ve also learned how to make journal entries, which is posting numbers to a journal page so that companies know where their money is going,” she said.

Students continually test their understanding of concepts by participating in projects. “Mrs. Woodruff gave us a business and we have to be accountants for the business. She gave us all the transactions that we have to post to the journal, in excel. From the journal we post it to the ledger. We’re going to do the whole accounting cycle,” Leduc said.

By signing up for Accounting, Leduc has entered a new world she never knew existed. She said, “This class has given me more insight into what career I might want to go into. Now I’m seriously considering being an accountant.”

Ottenbacher learning about our worl’s backbone

By Dylan Yore

Richmond High School

As the rooster crows, junior Vince Ottenbacher, jumps out of bed looking forward to an information-packed day at his AIS technical class. This is his second year participating in the hands-on class offered by RHS at AIS on Gratiot, in Richmond.

Ottenbacher said, “I want to do something in the construction or engineering fields. I would specifically like to be a Mechanical Engineer where I can design equipment. Taking this class is helping me understand what kind of information I will need to know to succeed as an engineer in the future.”

Students have in-class time and outdoor time where they operate heavy machinery.

Under teacher supervision, students learn to control and maneuver heavy equipment.

Ottenbacher said, “We operate on a huge pile of asphalt millings; sometimes the teachers will have a challenge for us to do.”

Students’ also work on engines and the electrical aspect of diesel machinery.

This year, students are learning about transmissions, hydraulics and electrical components.

Ottenbacher said, “I have learned how to maintain service and repair equipment.”

Students will start to learn the electrical end on the equipment during second semester.

“I really enjoyed the transmission and hydraulic sections; I am eager to learn the electrical because it seems more simple than all of the parts we had to deal with last semester,” said Ottenbacher.

This hands-on class is offered as a gateway for students’ future careers.

Ottenbacher said, “I believe that taking this AIS class will better me for my future in this field for sure. I strongly feel that this class has and will continue benefitting me.”

Being from a farm family, Ottenbacher gets to use his technical skills around the house as well as at school.

Ottenbacher said, “I have used my skills maintaining family vehicles and my snowmobile. I know a lot more about machines. I have gained a ton of knowledge over the past year-and-a-half.”

Markin’ Up Skills for Life

By Beth Beindit

Richmond High School

Kate Nezich, junior, decided to take a leap of faith and enroll in Marketing this school year.

The RHS class has been taught for 10 years by Mr. Brown, business teacher.

“Marketing teaches interlevel skills and creates an overall conscious student and customer. Marketing helps students understand what’s going on around them,” said Mr. Brown. “You learn how to sell, advertise and promote.”

Students also play a major role in the school store, The Devil’s Den. They run the entire store with the assistance of Mr. Brown.

Nezich said, “We learn how to approach customers correctly as well as work the cash register and stock/count products.”

Mr. Brown trains the whole class to run the store. He said, “We use it as a marketing lab where we can take our classroom lessons into a real-life setting.”

Students also focus on skills like pricing, stocking, customer relations and money when working in The Devil’s Den.

Marketing sparks student awareness of job trends and what’s going on in society, said Mr. Brown. Overall, he said it creates a better-prepared citizen.

“We learn how to manage money and business,” Nezich said.

The class features tips and lessons on how to be become a conscious consumer. Nezich believes this will shape her into a successful customer as well as businesswoman.

She said, “This class makes you aware of the type of marketing techniques businesses use.” She has gained knowledge of different methods to appeal to a wide variety of age groups. For instance, Nezich said, “Different TV channels create commercials aimed towards certain age groups to help sell their products.”

In turn, she has learned how to promote products and manage a business. Nezich said, “For example, if I had a job in retail, I’d know how to manage it from start to finish, from customers to money.”

Nezich added that Mr. Brown touches on what makes for a prosperous business and the traits a failing business possesses. Marketing class will help prepare Nezich for future professions she decides to jump into.

“Mr. Brown has a business/marketing degree so he knows what he’s talking about,” said Nezich.

Although Nezich is planning to pursue a medical degree, she is convinced that Marketing has offered her valuable skills she will apply to the real world.